Augoeides: About Augoeides

Augoeides has been online since June of 2006. It originally ran Scoop on a dedicated server back when I was a partner at a local Internet Service Provider and could get the machine co-located for free, and then moved over to Blogger in November of 2007. All posts older than that were migrated from my archives of the Scoop site. My goal in creating this site was and remains to provide a platform for the discussion of the magical arts that will hopefully contribute to the building of a knowledge base for magick similar to that built over the last several centuries for the physical sciences. At the moment we're clearly nowhere close, but every bit of progress we as practitioners can make still counts. At the same time, I also enjoy providing commentary on various events going on around the world that touch upon the magical and spiritual realms. In perusing the site you should find a good mix of magick theory, practical magical techniques, news, opinion, and commentary - at least if I'm doing my job properly.

My Official Biography

Scott Michael Stenwick was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1969. A natural storyteller from early childhood, he was drawing pictures and assembling them into simple narratives before he could read or write. In elementary school he was exposed to computers when his school acquired an Apple II in 1977 and has been writing and programming ever since. He developed an interest in esoteric studies as a teenager following in the footsteps of his great-grandmother, a professional astrologer and medium, and began practicing ritual and ceremonial magick.

Scott attended Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and graduated in 1991 with a degree in psychology. In college he worked on two novels in addition to his studies but eventually decided that neither was suitable for publication without substantial revision. One of these novels recently went on to become Arcana, released in December 2009 by Pendraig Publishing. After graduation he went to work in the computer field and built a career as a software developer and information technology consultant. In this capacity he has worked for several Fortune 500 companies and designed and developed numerous business applications.

Scott lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two daughters. After years of solitary magical and mystical work, he joined Ordo Templi Orientis in 1995 and became a Freemason in 1997. He currently serves as a Chartered OTO Initiator and served as Master of Braden Lodge #168 for the 2002 calendar year. In addition, he is part of a smaller magical working group that has been in operation since 2002 and performed numerous experimental workings seeking to advance the general body of magical knowledge.

Scott's magical motto is Ananael Qaa, meaning "the secret wisdom of creation" in the Angelic language revealed to John Dee and Edward Kelley in the sixteenth century. Under that motto he maintains a personal blog dedicated to the discussion of magical techniques, the Western Esoteric Tradition, and current events related to magick and spirituality entitled Augoeides - Spiritual Technology for a New Aeon. Augoeides is a Greek term that refers to the Daemon or essential spiritual/magical self.

My Contact Information

You can reach me via e-mail here, and you can find my author web site here. I'm active on Facebook and promote this and my author web site there, but so far I have yet to see the point of getting into Twitter, MySpace, or any of the other social networking platforms.

I'll add more links here if and when I decide to extend my social networking, and of course as more of my books are published. Right now I have two manuscripts under consideration and am working on several more.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is your personal spiritual outlook?

I am a practitioner of Scientific Illuminism according to the definition given by Aleister Crowley – “The Method of Science, the Aim of Religion.” I consider myself a Thelemite and much of my personal practice is built upon the structure laid down by Crowley. However, I also incorporate practices including Tibetan Buddhist meditation, Chinese energy work, and so forth, in addition to ceremonial rituals and Western mystical practices. I am thoroughly convinced that good magicians steal from the best, and that techniques can be adapted between traditions so long as you understand them well enough to integrate them into your existing schema and do enough practice and empirical testing to verify that they actually work in the new context. That is one of the main reasons I set up this site – to facilitate the sharing of various techniques and experimentation with them.

What does Augoeides mean?

The term refers to the Daemon or Holy Guardian Angel, the true spiritual self. According to Hermetic mysticism, every individual has a spark of divine consciousness within them. Acting in harmony with the nature of this spark is what Thelemites call True Will and it is by acting in this manner that we find true and lasting happiness. Mysticism may be thought of as the process by which we discover this true nature and expand our consciousness beyond the bounds of identification with our limited limited human personalities.

What is “Spiritual Technology?”

Spiritual technology consists of various practices and techniques that facilitate mystical illumination and understanding, expand awareness, generate altered states of consciousness, and produce magical change in both the psychological and physical realms in accordance with will.

I am a Wiccan/Christian/Buddhist/Muslim/Taoist/Setian (etc). Am I welcome to comment here?

Absolutely, with a few ground rules. This site is dedicated to the discussion rather than proselytizing. Every functional spiritual tradition includes magical and mystical practices, whether or not they are widely used by adherents of those traditions. Discussion of techniques from any tradition is encouraged, but what is discouraged is political discussion about the superiority of one tradition over another or disputes over spiritual lineages. It is not that these sorts of discussions are necessarily unwarranted, but they tend to hijack discussions into areas that are beyond the focus of this site.

For example, a Christian posting a message stating that everyone should convert to his or her brand of Christianity or face eternal damnation will not be well-received. On the other hand, a Christian wanting to discuss the most effective techniques for prayer would be welcomed. Similarly, a Wiccan stating that patriarchal Christians are evil and should worship the Goddess instead contributes nothing to the conversation beyond personal prejudice, whereas a Wiccan making suggestions regarding methods of Calling the Quarters could start a really good discussion.

What other posting guidelines are there?

Generally speaking, comments that are hostile to the concept of mysticism are discouraged. It is all fine and good to tell people that they need to stop doing practices and just have faith in one deity or another, but doing so stops the discussion. Faith and belief are powerful things, but they are not the end-all of spiritual practice. Hardcore skeptical posts are in the same category. I was trained in experimental psychology and I do know that there is little scientific evidence of any kind that demonstrates the operation of paranormal forces. Stating it one more time is just another way to stop a discussion. People who are skeptical about paranormal forces and consider mysticism psychological in nature are welcome to contribute, so long as their focus is on the conversation and not on berating other practitioners about their beliefs. “I think this is a psychological effect and here is some research that supports my position” is a very different statement than “only an idiot would believe this effect is anything other than psychological.”

Constructive posts are generally what I am looking for. Constructive and positive are not synonymous. A comment consisting of “Yeah, that’s great, I agree completely” contributes as little to the discussion as “That’s stupid and evil.” When you express an opinion, explain why you believe what you do. Whether you agree or disagree with the poster, talk about your own experiences and how they support or contradict his or her conclusion. All arguments should be well-reasoned and coherent, avoiding personal attacks and ad hominim statements. If we do this well, we can work together to improve the state of the mystical and magical arts and by doing so enlighten more people and help to make more magicians effective in their rituals and practices.

Will you cast a spell for me?

Nope. I'm not in the business of casting spells professionally. If you're looking for someone who is I would recommend Jason Miller, author of Protection and Reversal Magick, The Sorcerer's Secrets, and the Strategic Sorcery blog. What I will do is answer questions about spellcasting and I have a number of spells posted that I have used successfully over the years. Feel free to contact me via e-mail if you need clarification on any of my instructions.